Roman Roundabout

August 31, 2005 | Rome

A couple of years ago I had the great fortune to travel to Europe with my father. We first arrived in Rome, the eternal city. I think the eternal city is quite fitting considering its rich history and its continued importance even today. What’s most interesting is that these two stories, history and modernity, live side by side in much of Rome. You have cell phones, cameras and cars paired with ancient statues, buildings and baths – a rare combination.

For this image I tried to highlight the pairing of history with modernity by capturing the lights of a city at night with the backdrop of some of its historic buildings and architecture. This is the Piazza della Republica – one of the many beautiful roundabouts in Rome. The building this was actually taken from was once the site of the Baths of Diocletian - in fact you can see the baths on the ground level through a glass floor. In the center is the Fountain of the Niaids, a wonderful fountain that was opened around the turn of the 20th century.